Alternative Fee Arrangements

Associate Bonus Watch: Boies Schiller Pays Up To $350K (Again)

Bonuses at Boies Schiller aren't quite as big this year, but the average bonus still falls just shy of $100,000.

Man Seeks Attorney The Old-Fashioned Way

This man has already spent $45,000+ in legal fees trying to get a divorce, needs a new attorney, and is fresh out of cash... so he decided to get creative.

Fixed-Fee Deals: 3 Traps For The Unwary

Fixed-fee deals can be great -- but watch out for these possible pitfalls, identified by in-house columnist Mark Herrmann.

Just How Much Does Wachtell Charge Clients Anyway?

A lawsuit filed against Wachtell by a former client offers a window into the elite firm's billing practices.

3 Predictions For The Legal Profession in 2015

In-house columnist Mark Herrmann looks back on the predictions he made for 2014, which turned out to be correct, and makes new predictions for 2015.

8 Mistakes Your Law Firm Might Be Making

If you're doing any of these things, you're doing it wrong.

Associate Bonus Watch: Boies Schiller Pays Up To $350K

How on God’s green earth do you wind up with a $350K bonus as a Biglaw associate?

Law Firms And The No-Longer ‘New’ Normal: Insights On 7 Key Subjects

The fate of the billable hour, how small firms can compete with large ones, the evil of profits per partner, and more.

Reinventing The Law Business: In Defense Of The Billable Hour

Should the billable hour really be vilified as something that rewards inefficiency and incompetence, or is it a benchmark with which to judge performance, or is it both?

Biglaw’s Pulse Beats Steadily, Gloom And Doom Notwithstanding

As the economy settles, so will Biglaw.

Do Discounts Encourage Problem Clients?

Conventional wisdom counsels against discounting, but what is the case in favor -- and how can you possibly avoid the issue altogether?

Mirabile Dictu! Alternative Fee Proposals That Move Goalposts!

In-house columnist Mark Herrmann wants to know: why do outside law firms keep proposing such insulting alternative-fee arrangements?

Today’s Tech: How A New York City Boutique Firm Competes With Biglaw

What lessons can this boutique teach to law firms seeking to compete in a changing legal landscape?

6 Ways To Avoid Paying A Price For Using Fixed Fees

These suggestions may help lawyers contemplating fixed-fee billing get started, or convince those who’ve tried flat fees unsuccessfully to reconsider.

Morning Docket: 04.14.14

* “[T]he one thing Windsor does not do is clearly establish a nationalized definition of marriage.” No one will be surprised when the same-sex marriage cases wind up before the Supreme Court. [National Law Journal] * Law firm mergers continue to hum along at a record pace, but whether they’ll actually work out is another question entirely. Only time will tell if we’ll see another “spectacular flameout.” [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * “The billable hour’s day has passed.” Eighty percent of law firm leaders believe hourly billing may soon be going the way of the dodo in favor of alternative billing arrangements. [Capital Business / Washington Post] * Despite its anti-gay policies, Trinity Western University Law has been granted approval from the Law Society of British Columbia to open its doors. And here we thought Canadians were supposed to be polite. [GlobalPost] * If you want to take an “Law and _____” class, sign up for Law and Traumatic Brain Injuries at GW Law. Having a TBI yourself seems like a requirement for enrollment, but shockingly, it’s not. [New York Times] * Times are so rough that God can’t even get a credit card. Instead of casting plagues upon the earth, he’s suing Equifax — though we’re sure he wouldn’t mind if the credit agency reps caught lice. [New York Post]